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PTA

By: StangStar06



"Dad," said my daughter Sasha. "You have to come to the school tomorrow to meet my new teacher."

"What happened to your old teacher, Mrs. Greendale?" I asked.

"Her husband had a heart attack so she has to stay home and take care of him for the rest of the school year," she answered.

I liked Mrs. Greendale. She was an old school teacher. None of that new-fangled, blame it on the parents shit for her. I never had to go up to the school unless Sasha did something extra stupid.

"Can't your mom meet her at the PTA meetings?" I asked.

"I'd rather have you meet her, Mom has been acting so strange lately," said Sasha.

"Alright Angel, I'll try to get over there, but I'm not making any promises," I said. "Meetings with teachers clearly fall under your Mom's jurisdiction."

I'm Lucas McCain. I'm an account rep for Devlin International. I'm thirty five going on fifty. I'm about 5'10" with brown hair and brown eyes. I'm in pretty good shape from daily runs, and I love my wife and daughter more than anything I can think of. My wife Dana was one of the movers and shakers on the school's PTA or whatever modern name they had for it.

Dana was short, about 5' even. At least she swore she was. Every time I measured her she came out at 4' 11". She was curvy with a big butt and big boobs that I loved to motorboat. We'd been married for fourteen years, and had been spoiling our daughter for the past 10 of those. We had only 8 more years, until Sasha was off to college. Then Dana and I could walk around the house naked as the day we were born, and spend our time screwing on all of the furniture.

Sasha did have one thing right though. Dana had been acting strangely again. Last time she acted like this it was because she was pregnant with Sasha. She was trying to figure out everything we'd have to have and do to make the pregnancy easier before she told me. I guess I was practically to blame for that because I'd never shown any interest in having kids. But from the first day my little angel came into the world. From just after I personally cut her umbilical cord and smacked her on her butt, she's been her daddy's girl.

Dana came in a little bit later and headed straight for the shower. She was doing that a lot lately, maybe once or twice a week. I didn't think anything of it though because women are always taking way more baths and showers than any guy ever does. When I look back on it now I guess I was stupid, or at least clueless. But let's face it most of us are. We get married because we love the other person so much that we want them to be a permanent part of our lives.

Part of that love is the fact that we trust them, in several ways. We trust them not to hurt us. We trust them to be faithful to us. We just never expect the person we pledge to spend the rest of our lives with, to stab us in the fucking back. Let's face it love makes us clueless. If you're constantly looking over your shoulder and watching for the apple of your eye to cheat on you, then your relationship sucks. Kick that bitch to the curb right now. Trust me if you can't let your guard down around her, you don't really love her. I'm sure a lot of you guys out there are thinking "If my old lady was running around on me, I'd know it." Well double O seven when it happens to you, trust me you'll be as clueless as I was, but probably not as lucky.

Anyway, the next day I showed up at Sasha's school just in time to pick her up. The only thing I needed to pickup after I got there was my jaw off the floor. The woman in front of Sasha's class was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. She wore jeans and a nice blouse. When I came into the room she was turned around with her back towards me. She had an inverted heart shaped ass. When she turned to face me I was mesmerized by her smile and the volume of tawny hair cascading over her shoulders. Her boobs were nowhere near as big as my wife's but who cared.

I sat there staring at her for a long time before I realized that she was talking to me. They just didn't make teachers like this when I was growing up. She was tall, at least for a woman. She had to be about 5'8' and much slimmer than Dana. Not that I was comparing them or anything, but she was stunning. Yep that's a good word for it, stunning.

"Daddy," snapped Sasha. "Ms. Marshall is talking to you."

"Oh, sorry," I stuttered. "I just had a brain fart. I'm uhm...Sasha's Dad. Mr. McCain, uhm. Lucas McCain. But you can just call me Luke." I extended my hand and she shook it warmly, and treated me to another one of those smiles. God Damn it, she should be selling those smiles.

"Sorry to call you here on such short notice," she said, smiling again. "I'm new here but the school takes parental involvement very seriously. Sasha is probably one of my brightest and friendliest students. And she's also one of the most helpful." She had a soft Southern accent that seemed to stretch each syllable into more than one. I could probably listen to this woman talk for ever.

I smiled at Sasha. I was proud of her. And she smiled back holding out her hand. I gave her five slapping her hand crisply. She looked at me as if I was retarded. "Dad, when someone holds out their hand, you're supposed to put money in it," she whined.

"Anyway continued Ms. Marshall, neither, you or your wife have participated in any of our projects or committees, this year."

"Uhm Ms. Marshall..."

"Please, call me Gianna," she said.

"Doesn't the PTA count?" I asked.

"Yes it certainly does," she smiled. "Are you a member of the PTA?"

"Well no," I said. "But my wife is; she attends every one of those meetings on Wednesday nights. She's never missed one."

Ms. Marshall's face changed in front of me. "Maybe I'm wrong," she said. "But the PTA meets on Tuesdays and only the third Tuesday of every month."

My face fell too. I had to find out what was going on with Dana.

"Why don't you pick out one of our committees or clubs to participate in anyway," she said. "And if your wife does turn out to be in the PTA than you're covered." she said all of that with plenty of sympathy in her voice. It was as if she knew what I was going through.

I looked over the list of activities and finally settled on Track. "I think I could help with this," I said. "I'm not an expert, but I run every day and I've done a few Marathons."

"That would be perfect," she said. "They meet on Tuesday and Thursday, at 5."

Sasha and I stopped off at McDonald's on our way home. It wasn't very nutritious as dinners go, but she likes it and that way I wouldn't have to cook. I knew that there was no chance of Dana beating us home, even though she got off work before I did.

Some guys like to sit in their favorite chairs while they think, and other like to go for a long walk. My favorite thinking activity was washing my red Mustang GT. As I rinsed off the car I started putting my thoughts about Dana's behavior in order. I knew that the PTA meetings were only once a month not every week. Dana had joined the PTA almost two months ago. That means that whatever she was doing, she'd done about six or eight times.

As I soaped the car up, I called a friend of mine. "Hey, Hop," I said into the phone.

"Hey Luke, how's it going?" he asked.

"Shitty," laughed. "Remember when you thought that Tia was cheating on you? What was the name of the agency you used?"

"Oh God don't remind me, of that," he laughed. "All I did was made some lawyers and some P.I.s richer."

"Well I told you that she wasn't cheating on you," I said. "She was taking some classes at the community college, because she thought that you were embarrassed by her accent and limited English."

"Yeah, I remember," he laughed. "Anyway the agency was called Ponderosa Investigations. They're in the book, and they're good."

"Thanks Hop," I said hanging up. I'd known Hop Sing since we were kids playing baseball.

I called information and got the number for Ponderosa Investigations. I called them and was told they'd have someone over in a few minutes, since they were located very close to my house.

I was polishing my Chrome Helo Tease rims when the car pulled up. I saw the man who got out, pull out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "Your Chrome is so bright, I thought I'd go blind," he said. "My Dad had a 1970 302 Boss that he babied like you do this car."

I nodded, I loved old school Mustangs too. "I'm Lucas McCain," I said, offering my hand.

"My friends call me Luke," I stood up and looked at him.

"Joseph Cartwright," he replied. His handshake was firm and I trusted him. He didn't look like the usual tall chiseled P.I. In fact he was only about 5' 4" tall. "My friends call me little Joe." 

I could see where the name had come from. "Why don't we go into the house and talk," I said. On our way into the house I explained my suspicions to him. He looked the house over and talked to me about the packages they had available. He ended up placing a recording device on the phone. I gave him her cell phone number, and since I paid the bill, he told me they'd be able to possibly monitor those calls as well. Then he put several tiny cameras around the house. I had the option of being able to view the feeds from the cameras on my own, or have them deliver a weekly or daily DVD. I opted for the cheaper option of the weekly DVD.

"How expensive is this going to be?" I asked him.

"How much would you be willing to pay for peace of mind," he replied. That told me that this was going to be pretty fucking pricey.

"In the end, one way or another, you'll think it was worth it," he smiled.

"Okay, explain that one to me," I said.

"Well if she's not cheating, you'll be able to let all of those nagging suspicions go," he said. "You'll be able to trust her again and work on making your marriage stronger. All of the stress that this is putting on you will be over, so you'll be able to relax." He breathed out letting it all go. I saw his point.

"On the other hand if she is cheating, not only will you know it. You'll have all of the evidence you need to confront her, or to even divorce her if necessary," he said. "That way no one will be able to make a fool out of you with some sleazy affair that lasted for years. You'll be able to move on with your life, one way or another."

"We'll be in touch," he said as he drove away.

I went back to polishing my car. About a half hour after he left, Dana got home. She was cheerful, and came over to sit and watch me work. That was new. 

"Dana, I don't like to have anyone look over my shoulder while I work," I said. "You're not doing anything bad it's me. It just gets on my nerves."

"Okay honey, I'll see you when you come in," she said. 

After I'd come in from washing the car, Dana sat down beside me as I watched TV. She was being awfully God Damned friendly all of a sudden. I got up and went to take a shower. 

When I got out of the shower, she was still there. I sat in the chair instead of on the sofa. "I'm going to bed," she said. "Coming?"

"I'll be in soon, I just want to watch the news," I said. I pretended to fall asleep on the sofa. When she came in supposedly to awaken me so I could go to bed, I just rolled over, as if I was deeply asleep.

The next morning I was up earlier than usual. I got ready for work and grabbed a cup of coffee. Dana and Sasha were just stumbling into the kitchen as I left. I kissed my daughter good bye, while Dana looked in the fridge. By the time she realized that I was leaving, the door had closed.

She called me at work later that morning. "Hey you left without saying goodbye to me this morning," she said. "What did I do?"

"What do you mean Dana?" I asked.

"We've been married for 14 years and together for 16. Unless we're angry at each other, you kiss me goodbye every morning, and tell me you love me. Sometimes you do it just to break the ice when we're angry at each other. I know it sounds stupid to you, but it kind of helps me start my day off. When I leave the house every morning it's good to know that someone loves me. It makes me feel special."

"I'm sorry Dana, I'll try to remember that," I said.

"What happened to you last night?" she asked.

"What do you mean now Dana?" I asked again.

"Well, I was horny," she said. 

I just let it go. I was smart enough not to say the first thing that popped into my mind. If I'd gone ahead and said, "I'm sure whomever you're fucking will appreciate that." It would have only let her know that I was on to her. Since I didn't have proof yet, I saw no reason to stir up what might not have been a problem. I was taking Hop Sing's lesson to heart."

"Oh, I wanted to remind you, I have..." she began.

"I know you have your PTA meeting tonight, Dana," I said coldly. "I'll talk to you later, I AM, at work." I hung up the phone. Fuck Hop Sing's lesson, I thought. There's no way I'll stand by and let this go on. As soon as I have proof, I want to be able to move quickly. I called Hop again.

"Hey Hop, who was the lawyer that your aunt used for her divorce?" I asked.

"I don't remember," he said. "I can give you the number of the guy I was going to use."

"Hell no," I snapped. "He was too God Damned friendly. I remember he kept talking about all of that sitting down and talking it over, bullshit. He talked about being reasonable, and sharing. All of that shit about making joint decisions and being mature just rubs me the wrong fucking way. I want that lawyer that your Aunt had that took your uncle to the cleaners."

"Okay, calm down Luke. I'll call her right now and get the number for you. Are you even sure that anything is going on though?" he asked.

"I'd rather have her, and not need her, than need her, and not have her," I said.

"Okay, I'll call you right back," he said hanging up.

For the next few moments I actually did some work. I processed orders for a couple of clients and arranged shipping for the products they needed that had to be shipped overseas.

When the phone rang, I picked it up on the first ring.

"Her name is Ann Wilson," said Hop. "She works for the Heart agency. From what I've heard she's the meanest divorce lawyer in the state. They call her Barracuda. Are you sure you want to..."

"Thanks Hop," I said. Then I hung up the phone. I called directory assistance and got the listing for the Heart Agency. I asked the person who answered if I could speak to Ann Wilson. The Phone started ringing again, as my call was transferred.

"Hwhaat d'ya want now?" The voice on the phone was so loud and so angry, that I was afraid. I started to hang up immediately. There was so much rage and frustration coming off of that single question, that I wondered what could cause a person like that to work for the public.

"Uhm, I'm looking for Ann Wilson," I said politely.

"Sorry, this is she," said an almost melodious female voice. "Sorry about that, I thought you were my ex husband. He's been calling me early in the morning lately just to aggravate me."

I had found my lawyer. I was sure of it for two reasons. First, from the sound of her voice I was sure this woman's balls scraped the ground when she walked. I knew she'd take no fucking prisoners, and that was what I wanted. Second, she was divorced, so I'm sure she can understand the rage and the pain, a rough break-up can cause.

"I'd like you to represent me in my divorce," I said.

"Sorry, I don't think so," she said. "Lately, because of my reputation, I've been getting a lot of calls from men, who want me to represent them, so their wives don't hire me. In my opinion if you cheated on her, you deserve what's coming to you. If you guys would just once think about something with the brain in your head instead of the one in your dick, the world would be a better place. "

"Can you get down off of your soap box long enough for me to explain things to you?" I asked sharply. "In the first place, I've never cheated on my wife in the entire time that we've been together. She's the one who's cheating on me. And she's not only cheating on me, but on our beautiful little daughter. I've been feeling like a single Dad for a couple of months and I finally found out why. I don't have any evidence yet, but I have a P.I. firm working on that. I want to move quickly so this can all be handled over the summer, to mitigate the problems for my daughter."

"I'm really sorry," she said. "Her whole demeanor had changed." We set up an appointment for later that day, to discuss the particulars and hung up.

For the rest of the work day, I really tried to concentrate on work but I was distracted. I kept trying to figure out what went wrong. I spent a few seconds wringing my hands and thinking about where I'd failed her. Then I sobered up and started trying to figure out just how stupid she had to be to ever cheat on me.

Just before 3 p.m. My phone rang. I answered it.

A soft and sultry voice, with just a hint of a southern accent instantly brought back memories. "I hope that it's okay to call you." she said. "I just wanted to remind you that our first little get together is tomorrow afternoon." I was lost in that voice all over again.

"Okay," I said. "Go ahead and remind me." That brought laughter from her. Even her laugh was sweet and funny.

"The kids will get there at about 5," she said. "We should be there a little bit earlier. Wear something you can run in. Tomorrow, we'll probably just do a slow easy group run. Bye."

All of my thoughts about Dana were gone. Somehow when Gianna, said, "Bye," the word meant so much more than just good bye. There was a hint of playfulness, and even a bit of "I don't really want to stop talking to you in it." It also made me wonder if she didn't just mean "Bye, for now." I was sure I was just imagining it though. 

I picked Sasha up from school and we went home. We played Little Big Planet together on our Playstation 3, for a couple of hours. I grilled steaks for us and made a small salad. Then after dinner, Sasha went to her room for homework and "boy," talk with one of her friends. I went to the computer to look for new things to do to My Mustang on some of my favorite after-market parts websites. After convincing myself that my car really needed a chin spoiler, I went back to the PS3 and started watching the Blue Ray disc of Ironman 2.

I had the volume up so loud that I didn't hear Dana when she came in. She wrapped her arms around me and tried to kiss me. I quickly stood up as if she had startled me, moving away from her in the process.

"It serves you right," she laughed. "You know you shouldn't have the surround sound on that loud. How is Sasha supposed to sleep?"

"Sorry," I said, turning back towards the television.

"Well wait a minute," she said. "What smells so good? Did you grill something?"

"Just steaks for me and Sasha," I answered. "We didn't think you'd want to eat when you got in. Your usual pattern is to immediately take a shower and rest after your uhm meetings."

She had trouble meeting my eyes, and she just nodded, and went into the bedroom. I couldn't tell if I'd given anything up, or if she was just feeling guilty. And I didn't really care which one it was, I just wanted this over with. 

I thought about all of the things, financial and otherwise that Ann Wilson wanted me to provide by our next meeting in order to quickly facilitate the divorce. 

I needed Income and tax statements from both of us and a list of assets and their value. She also had me list all of our responsibilities towards Sasha, and who handled them. With our state being a community property state, it was a foregone conclusion that any property settlement would probably be 50/50. I liked the idea of us just walking away from each other, she kept hers and I kept mine. Since I made more money, I was hoping that a judge would rule that alimony balanced out against child support. I'd keep my daughter, with Dana getting liberal visitation. She wouldn't have to pay child support and I wouldn't have to pay alimony. Since the house we live in belongs to my parents, there was no way she'd get it. We would have to split the furniture and everything else though.


PTA



Again, I just wanted it over so I could move on. 

"Are you coming to bed?" she asked, a short time later. 

"Maybe later," I said.

"Luke, what's going on?" she asked. "For the past 2 days, you've been avoiding me. I want to know why. Did I do something to upset you?"

"Dana, for the past 2 months, you've been distant and acting weird towards both Sasha and me. Do you want to tell us why? What about the mood swings, you've been going through? We never know which Dana is coming home. Maybe we're just trying to give you some space to get your head out of your ass." I hadn't intended to start this but it was all coming out.

I got up and grabbed my car keys before I said something I'd regret.

"Where are you going?" she asked. It looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm going out for a drive, to calm down before this gets even more out of control," I said.

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked. "Maybe we could talk."

"Nope, there's no point in waking Sasha, because we aren't getting along," I said. "Or were you planning on leaving our daughter in the house alone, while we were out? Maybe it's just that you forgot about her because I'm usually the one who takes care of her?"

Dana started crying. She reached for me and I pulled away from her. "Luke, I love you, and I love Sasha too. You know that."

"You have a funny assed way of showing it," I growled as I closed the door.

Driving my Mustang at night has its own magic. The faces of people on the street as I passed them were fun to look at. They heard the car's engine a bit before they saw the car. They tended to watch me long after I'd gone by them.

As I drove, I wondered what was going through Dana's mind. She had a husband and a daughter who worshipped the ground she walked on. Why would she risk that just to fuck some other guy? Our sex life all the way until 2 days ago was pretty vigorous, even after 14 years. I was also not huge but above average in the size department. I just couldn't figure it out. Was she bored with what we did? Maybe I was just being a guy. Maybe this was about more than just sex.

I guess guys always tended to think that when someone cheated, it was about sex. Maybe I was doing or not doing something in a completely different area. But it had to be more than just sex, or me, because she was treating Sasha differently too?"

I drove around and wasted gas for about an hour before heading home. When I got there all of the lights were out, so I assumed that Dana was asleep.

I took a quick shower and slipped into bed. My intention was to stay as far away from her as I could. At least until I found out whether or not she was actually cheating on me. I had been productive during my drive. I had come up with at least 5 or 6 reasons for her flakey behavior. She could have had a secret gambling addiction. One of the women who'd been friends with my mom went through that. She was sneaking out of the house and driving to a casino at least once or twice a week for a couple of years before her husband found out.

He never would have found out if she hadn't gotten way over her head and had to bet their mortgage payments. Once she missed that third payment and the mortgage company called him at work all hell broke loose. But in the end they got her some help and stayed together. 

Another possibility was that Dana was hooked on some kind of drugs. I guess it only showed how fucked up I was, that I'd prefer to have her gambling or on drugs than fucking someone else.

Almost as soon as my head hit the pillow she slid over near me. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've been stressed out at work lately. I guess I didn't realize it until you said something. Is there anything I can do to make you forgive me?"

"Treat Sasha better," I snapped.

"Well for right now I was thinking about something more personal," she said, rubbing her hands up and down my stomach. As her fingers neared my pubic region I grabbed her hand and moved it.

"What's wrong?" she asked. I could tell she was kind of shocked. In 14 years I had never, not been in the mood.

"I need to get to sleep," I said. "I have a big day tomorrow, so I'll need all of my energy." Then I rolled over and moved even further away from her.

"But..." she began.

"Goodnight Dana," I said.

The next morning, for some reason, I felt great. I looked through the files in our home office and made copies of all if the tax documents that Ann Wilson had asked for. Within hours, Barracuda would have all of the information she needed to go forward with my divorce. All we needed now was the proof. I really hoped that Little Joe had something for me. 

I've heard a couple of things over the years from married couples and divorced ones that I guessed I'd always thought might be true. One was the old chestnut about how you couldn't turn off love like a light switch, unless you had never really loved the person. I really believe that's false now. I think it depends on the situation and the people involved.

In my case until 3 days prior, I had loved Dana with all of my heart and soul. She's the mother of my daughter and I really thought and hoped that we'd grow old together. But the realization that she'd betrayed me had simply changed my feelings for her. If she had cheated on me we could still grow old, but it wouldn't be together.

The second old wives tale was that the husband never knew when the wife cheated. The guys are always painted as being clueless. Unless the poor sap came home early and found the proverbial strange car in the driveway, he never found out. Even then sometimes the wife came up with a clever lie, and convinced the guy that nothing was going on. Basically the only way the husband ever finds out is to catch them in the act.

None of those scenarios described me at all. I needed to get Dana out of my life, but that wouldn't be totally possible for a while. She was Sasha's mother. For at least the next 8 years we'd have custody issues. Then we'd both probably have to go to graduations and her wedding. Then there'd be the births of children. Hopefully after a few years I'd find someone else and get over her cheating ass. Maybe my skin would stop crawling when I saw her too.

At lunchtime I faxed copies of the documents over to Ann's office. So she could start on the papers. My afternoon seemed to drag after that. I kept thinking back to how much I loved Dana when we'd first gotten together. I had to get myself together. My mood swings were as bad as hers. I kept alternating between hating her guts, and wishing she wasn't doing this so we could stay together. I thought about marriage counseling. I thought about maybe trying to forgive her and get past this. The thought lasted for about a picosecond.

There was simply no way I could forgive her, if it was true. I also considered the fact that I was guilty too. I mean I had, from time to time fantasized about other women. I'd even been running a little mental crush on Dana's new teacher all week. But there was a difference between thinking about someone in favorable terms, and actually fucking someone outside of your marriage. Most guys are always going to look at hot women, and think about it. But when you actually do something about it, a line has been crossed.

Dana called me at work, and I didn't take her call. She tried my cell, but I didn't answer it either. She left me a message telling me how much she loved me, and how we needed to talk. I deleted it after listening to it. 

I picked Sasha up from school at the normal time. She was excited about something, but I didn't remember what was supposed to happen that day.

"Dad, are we going to eat first or are we going straight to the park?" asked Sasha. 

"Who said we were going to the park today?" I asked.

"Oh, no," she said. "You forgot didn't you? You're supposed to be helping out with the track club today."

We drove home and I changed into a track suit. I figured that was what the volunteers and coaches would wear. I was ready to leave when Sasha told me to grab my iPad. I brought it out and handed it to her.

"Thanks Dad," she said. "That way I have something to do while I'm watching you watch people run."

When we got to the park I took a look around to see where all of the kids were. The park was bowl shaped. The parking lot was at the top and you had to walk downhill to get to the trails and the other activities the park offered.

Just past the unused tennis courts I saw a group of familiar faces, and some parents too. I saw a couple of kids that Sasha hung out with from time to time and their mothers or fathers.

I went over and joined the group. A few minutes later I looked back up the hill and saw a Jeep pull into the parking spot next to my Mustang. Gianna got out of it and was talking to Sasha. As she walked down the hill, I noticed that she had on a track suit too.

I think every one of the fathers there, gulped together when she came over and introduced herself. One guy, who had only seconds ago been talking about how he'd be glad when the teacher got there so he could leave, sat down to watch. Inwardly I was laughing my ass off. She obviously had the same effect on them that she'd had on me. Wait until they heard that voice and her accent.

Gianna called all of the kids together and introduced me as her assistant or co-coach. She explained that this was only a cross country club, not an official team yet. We would get together to run twice a week for now. But she told them that she expected them to run on their own as well. If things worked out well for us, in the fall there would be tryouts for a cross country team, and we'd have meets against other elementary schools.

She told the parents that they could either stay or come back in an hour to pick their kids up. Most of them were leaving until she got ready to run. When she pulled off her track pants and stood there in her shorts, every man there decided to stay.

We got all of the kids together and after a brief warm-up went on a slow group run through the trails.

I took up a position, trailing behind the group, in case someone got hurt or couldn't keep up the very slow pace we ran at. After a while it became clear that all of the kids were capable of running faster than we were running that day. Even the uhm...chunky kids were ahead of me. Gianna slowly drifted back to me on our second lap of the trail.

"Hey there," she said smiling. "Are you okay?"

I nodded my head.

"That bad?" she asked. "I've been thinking about it, and I guess I wanted to apologize to you."

"What do you need to apologize for?" I asked.

"Well, I ran our conversation back through my mind a couple of times. I guess I was kind of insensitive," she said. 

"How were you supposed to know that I was stupid enough to believe my wife was in the PTA, and never check on the meeting dates?" I asked.

"That's not being stupid," she said. "That's called trusting. It's a good thing. It's the sign of a good person."

"If I'm a good person, why do I feel so bad?" I asked her.

"Oh, it hurts really badly in the beginning," she said. "But then after a while...it gets worse!"

I smiled at her expression, and tone. Some of the kids had even noticed the sour note in her voice.

"It sounds like you've been there," I said. "But I find that so hard to believe."

"Why, because I'm cute," she laughed. Her laugh was totally fucked up. It started out like a giggle and then ended on a snort. "My ex was so jealous of every man that even looked at me sideways, that I couldn't go anywhere, or do anything. I'd have loved to have someone that gave me the simple gift you give your wife, trust. It really means a lot. If you don't trust someone, then how can you ever really believe that you love them?"

"On the other hand, even though he didn't trust me as far as he could throw my car, he was the one who was sleeping around." My mouth dropped open. "He was an explorer. So after he had conquered me, he needed to find new conquests to keep from getting bored. He fought the divorce tooth and nail. But finally it was over and I moved on. That was three years ago and I'm just getting to the point where I can stand to be around men."

"I'll try my best not to act like a man then," I said. "Damn men, I hate them all."

"I don't hate men," she smiled. "I just went through a lot of bitterness and self pitying. Where I come from, if you can't keep your man happy, you're just not much of a woman."

"Uhm...you're very much of a woman," I sputtered. The whole time we'd been running together, it had been hard for me to keep my eyes off of her ass, in those tight shorts. Her legs also seemed to be incredibly long and sensual. Her breasts while not nearly as big as Dana's were simply perfect for her body.

"Noticed that, did ya?" she smiled. Her smile told me a lot. First that she was definitely interested in me on some level. It also let me know that she knew the effect that she had on men, and wasn't above flaunting it and flirting a little bit.

After the second lap we took the kids back to the clearing we'd started the run from. We had them do a few stretching exercises, told them how great they'd done and sent them home with their parents. Several of the parents came over to ask questions. Most of the men wanted to know how I got to be her assistant and if there were any other openings.

As we walked back up to the parking lot after the last kid was gone. Sasha came bounding out of the car. "Dad, can we go to Pizza Hut?" she asked.

"I guess so," I smiled. 

"Good," she said. "It's Ms Marshall's favorite restaurant."

"So Ms. Marshall, since it's your favorite restaurant?" I hinted.

"Well, Mr. McCain, I'd love to join you. But why don't we make it forty-five minutes from now. That way the two of us can shower and change. You have to be comfortable to eat pizza," she laughed.

"Okay, see you then," said Sasha. "Come on Dad, you need a shower."

Forty five minutes later Sasha and I got out of the Mustang in front of the town's only Pizza Hut. We went inside and got a table. We were looking over the menus when Gianna showed up and every guy in the place turned to look at her. She smiled at me, and I could feel it from across the room. I could also feel the scrutiny of all of the guys there. It made me wonder what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone like that. How would you deal with all of the guys constantly hitting on her?

I did the gentleman thing and pulled her chair out from the table for her. We had a great time, and we all ate a lot of Pizza. Sasha spent some time playing Video games so Gianna and I had some time to talk. It was kind of a magical night. 

Gianna asked me how my marital situation was going, and I filled her in. She shook her head and told me that it would get a lot worse before it got better.

"Wait until you're in your lawyer's office arguing over a coffee table that neither one of you really wants," she said. "You just get to the point where you don't want to give that person a single thing more than they've already taken from you."

"Sorry, this must be a terrible first date for you," she smiled.

"This is a date?" I said. I wasn't sure that I was ready for dating yet. What if I found out that Dana wasn't cheating on me. What if it was just gambling? That would make me the cheater wouldn't it?"

I knew that I should say something to her about it, but damn it, I didn't. I just let the night go however it did.

Sasha got so tired from playing her video games and hanging out with the kids at Pizza Hut that I had to carry her into the house and put her to bed. We'd stayed out a lot longer than I'd planned. It was mostly because Gianna was so easy to talk to. She was like a wind-up toy. You just wound her up and watched her go, she would tell you anything you wanted to know about anything.

I got into bed and tried not to wake Dana up, but she rolled over and hugged me as soon as I got to bed. "Where'd you guys go?" she asked. 

"Pizza Hut," I replied.

"I wondered why your iPad wasn't on the desk. Sasha played with her friends and ate pizza, while you were surfing the net for car parts, right. You're a good Dad, sweetie. And you're a wonderful husband. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting," she said. "I love you Luke. Can we please start the make-up sex now?"

Even in the low moonlight shining in through the windows I could see Dana's huge breasts. She'd come to bed naked determined to give me some bastard's sloppy seconds. There was no way I was going to fuck her until I knew whether or not she was cheating on me.

"Tonight's not good," I said, leaving her even more shocked than she'd been the night before. "I think I'm coming down with a cold, I don't want to give it to you." I wished that I could have read Dana's mind as she sat there glaring at me. Didn't she think that I knew what was going on, or did she think I was still stupid? 

The next morning I quickly left again after waking Sasha up and asking her not to tell her mother about the night before.

"She hardly talks to me anyway Dad, why should this morning be any different," said Sasha.

I was sitting at my desk a couple of hours later, lost in thought as usual when I got a package delivered by messenger. I signed for it and opened it. Inside the envelope were 2 diskettes and a sheaf of papers. I put one disk into my computer and played it. There were four files on the disk. I played the one with the previous Wednesday's date on it. It showed Dana going into a cheap motel with a really tall guy. I could barely make out who he was. Then inside the room I saw them closer. It was Chuck Connors, a guy she worked with. I watched long enough to see that they weren't playing cards; then I turned the disk off. 

I guess some guys would have wanted to watch the whole thing. Even sicker guys would probably want to watch it multiple times and maybe even jack off to it. I just felt like throwing up. Gianna was right of course, as bad as it was wondering and thinking that she'd been cheating on me. It was far worse seeing it. Especially when seeing some of the things that she let him do to her, that she had never allowed me to think about. I made a copy of the DVD to send to Ann. Then I copied the phone conversations disk and sent a copy of both disks and the papers, which detailed who Chuck Connors was, when they'd gotten together, and other information.

I called Ponderosa Investigations and thanked them for a job well done. I also discontinued their services because they were no longer needed and they were expensive.

Ann called me a couple of hours later. She told me that everything was ready. The papers had already been prepared she'd only needed Chuck's name so I could sue him too. In our state you couldn't sue for alienation of affection or anything like that. I was suing him for mental anguish, because of the stress that he'd helped to put on my daughter and me, from his affair with Dana. 

Ann told me that there was a very real possibility that we wouldn't collect a dime from Chuck. The reason we were suing him was to let his wife and family know about what he'd done, and basically fuck up his life. When we sued the company they worked for they'd both probably get fired. And with the suit against him in the public record, anyone who considered hiring him in the future who ran a background check could run across it. It was a nice touch. Ann was obviously worth every nickel she was charging me.

She also explained to me that unlike on TV we weren't going to roll out all of our ammunition together. That would be stupid. We went for the divorce first. After the settlement agreement had been signed and approved by the judge. Then we sued Chuck and the company. That way at the time the judge approved everything Dana would have her income, so the settlement would be relatively fair. Then after the judge approved it, we hit Chuck and the company. Since Dana would have lost her job after the settlement had been approved it wouldn't be our fault that she was broke and homeless.




PTA



Ann also told me that I should listen to the audio conversations on the second disk if I hadn't already, because Dana had been thinking of ending things between her and Chuck. Ann wanted to know if it made any difference to me, and I told her "nope."

I told her that I needed a day or 2 to figure out how and when I wanted to serve the papers. She thought that we should do it at Dana's job. The embarrassment and humiliation that it would cause if done there were excellent. It would also serve notice to the company's higher ups that trouble was brewing.

I hung up the phone, and though I guessed that I should be happy, a smile was the furthest thing from my mind. 

I don't know how I made it through the weekend. On Saturday I took Sasha and a couple of her friends to the zoo. On Sunday I washed and polished my car again. Monday I couldn't stomach sitting through another day of work so I called in sick and took my Mustang to a collision shop to have the chin spoiler installed.

The instructions said it was simple, and anyone could do it. But I didn't want to risk it in my state of mind and fuck my car up. 

While I waited for the techs to install it, I called Ann and told her she could have Dana served at work Wednesday. 

As soon as I hung the phone up it rang again. The caller I.D. showed Dana's number.

"Why aren't you at work?" she asked.

"I'm still not feeling well, so I decided to have some work done on my car," I said.

"Why didn't you at least tell me so I'd know where you were, and not look stupid calling your office?" she asked. "We are supposed to be married, you know."

"Sometimes I can't tell," I said slowly.

"Luke you know I love you," she said. "And I know that I caused this, but I don't know how to fix it without making it worse. Can't we just promise each other to never let work stresses interfere with our family again?"

"Okay Dana, no more work stress at home," I said.

"Me neither," she said. "Never again, I promise."

"What a crock of shit," I said as I hung the phone up. I couldn't believe she thought I'd fall for that work related stress bullshit. She really thinks I'm stupid. 

The phone rang again. I was about to really let Dana have it since I was so pissed at her, but it wasn't her.

"Why aren't you at work?" said Gianna. Just hearing her voice made me feel better. 

"I'm depressed," I said. I explained everything to her, and told her where I was.

"Okay, that isn't why I called," she said abruptly. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring you down with talk about my life in ruins," I said.

"You're not bringing me down," she said. "And I'm willing to listen to anything you want to talk about. I'm just afraid that if we start talking about our problems to each other all the time, that we'll become friends."

"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling worse. "I kind of thought we were friends already."

"Oh hell no," she snapped suddenly. "Get that thought out of your mind right now."

"Well, I'm gonna let you go," I said sadly. "I don't want to waste any of your time."

"I called you, Luke," she reminded me. "I wanted to ask you about our second date."

"What second date?" I asked. "I thought...!"

"Luke, you don't ever want to be a girl's friend. And I don't want you to ever think of me as your friend either." she said seriously.

"When I got my divorce, I had a lot of friends. Most of them were female but, there were a few guys too. A lot of my friends would call to make me feel better during my divorce. Even the guys would call me. The problem is once a person is in that friend zone it's pretty hard to change their status. I never once gave any thought to fucking any of those guys I thought of as friends. I don't want you thinking of me as a friend."

"Okay I'm confused," I said. "What..."

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I'll handle it. You're still shell shocked. I'm just trying to make sure that in a few weeks when you're really ready to move on, that I'm the first person in line."

"What line?" I asked.

"You work for a relatively large company right?" she asked. I agreed.

"That means that when the news of your divorce gets around, there will be plenty of women sniffing after you. And they'll all be behind me," she smirked.

"Uhm Gianna, if you're in line, there won't be a line," I said. "I'm not stupid enough to let you get away."

"Ooh, finally a little flattery. Now that I know that you're interested, let's talk about that second date," she said. "I'm torn, you know."

"Torn about what?" I asked. I was still really confused. No wonder women think we're all clueless.

"Well, the second date is a little bit early for a romantic dress up date. But it's great for another little fun get to know you type thing. The big decision is do we bring Sasha along?" she asked. "Because I know she likes me, but after the second date, we should have our first good night kiss, and I'm not sure she likes me that much. Seeing some woman plant her lips on your father can be rough."

"Are you planning on planting your lips on me?" I croaked. The tightness in my pants made me really glad I was in my office alone.

"Most definitely," she laughed. "We must follow the protocol after all. It was all I could do not to kiss you in Pizza Hut."

"So when is this going to occur?" I asked. This woman had a way of making me forget about everything going on in my life, except her.

"The sooner, the better," she said. "What about tomorrow after practice? I'll pack a picnic lunch, and the four of us can just have a picnic right there in the park after everyone goes home. We can even roast some Marshmallows."

"Uhm, what four are you talking about?" I asked.

"You, me, Sasha and her best friend Beth," she smirked. "That way Sasha has someone to hang out with while we have the talk."

"Okay," I said, hoping my head would stop spinning. 

"See you then, Bye," she said. That, "bye," emphasized the sultriness of her voice and that accent. If all of the country girls were like her, I wondered why anyone ever left the south.

While picking Sasha up from school, I scanned the parking lot but I didn't see Gianna's Jeep.

"She's not here, Dad," laughed Sasha. "She had to do some shopping, you and I both know why." I looked at Sasha and she was smiling. I guessed that things were okay with her.

When we got home, Dana was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Sasha and I both looked at her, as if she was an alien. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"We didn't know you could cook," said Sasha.

"Why are you home?" I asked. 

"I just decided not to do any overtime tonight," said Dana, smiling. "I just wanted to spend some time with my family."

"When are they coming?" asked Sasha. "I'm kind of busy tonight, I have lots of homework."

"I'm going to take some pictures of the car with the new chin spoiler on it and maybe take it out to the roads around the airport where there's not a lot of traffic and try it out," I said. 

Sasha walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of slices of the Pizza we'd brought the other day. She warmed them up in the microwave while Dana glared at her.

"Later, Dad," said Sasha retreating to her room. That left me standing there alone with Dana. 

"I've been thinking," she said smiling at me. "What would you think about having another baby?"

It was one of the hardest things I've ever done in life, but I managed to keep a straight face. I didn't laugh in her face, and I didn't retch or throw up either.

"I'm going to get the camera and take my pictures now," I said.

"What about my idea?" she whined. "I wanted to get started on it as soon as possible."

"Uhm, I'll think about it," I said, heading out of the house.

I shot off about fifty pictures of the car from several different angles with my digital camera. I had pictures of the car at every stage of its development from bone stock, until the present. I hated to leave my daughter alone with Dana, but I really needed to get away from there.

As I drove along the road I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. There were only two reasons for Dana to be so lovey-dovey all of a sudden. Either she was really trying to save our marriage. Or she was trying to pull even more of her shit on me. If she was really trying to save the marriage, didn't I have to at least give her the chance to try?

Then there was this sudden desire to get pregnant again. Was this another tactic aimed at saving our marriage? Did she somehow suspect that I knew about her affair, and she thought that by getting pregnant again it would keep me from leaving her cheating ass. Or was there something even worse down the pipe. Was she already pregnant with his child and trying to get me to fuck her so she could claim it was mine? That was even more reason why I wasn't going to have sex with her.

Then of course there was the guilt. Was I suddenly so adamant about kicking her out of my life because she had hurt me and broken our marriage vows? Or was it because I had someone better lined up? 

Since we were still married, wasn't I as bad as she was? I had apparently started dating before I filed for the divorce. I hadn't initiated anything, but I was still doing it.

I guess it all boiled down to timing. Dana had been cheating on me for over a month. In my mind as soon as she spread her legs for Chuck Connors, our marriage ended. So it was at least to me, perfectly within my rights to seek happiness somewhere else as well.

As far as any babies went, if Dana was pregnant, we'd have a DNA test done. If it was my child I'd pay child support for it, and be a part of his or her life, but Dana and I were still done. There was no going back after what she'd done.

I drove around for far longer than I needed. I loved being in my car but eventually I had to go home. Naturally Dana was still awake. "Ready, daddy?" she asked.

"No," I said honestly. "Dana, our problems are a lot more serious than you think. You treating me and Sasha like shit for nearly two months, and then deciding that everything is fine doesn't work for me. I don't see how having another child would make an already shitty situation any better."

She looked genuinely hurt. "But, Luke I love you," she said.

"I love you too, Dana," I said. And I meant it. "But I don't think this is something we can fix over night." She looked really hurt then.

"Don't worry Dana," I said. "It's not like you're already pregnant. We haven't had sex in a few weeks. So don't worry about it."

"I guess that's why I'm so horny," she said. "I miss you." She hugged me and rubbed her hand across my crotch.

"Dana it's not going to happen, now get away from me," I snapped. I went into the bedroom and left her there crying.

The next morning all of the tension in me was gone. Dana was still in the living room. She looked awful. I got a shower, dressed and went to work.

After work I changed clothes at the office, went to pick Sasha up and went to practice. The kids and the parents were gathered there as usual. I noticed a few of the women looking at me. Some of them were married, but they still looked. Was there something in the fucking water around here? Married women going after strange dick seemed to be an epidemic.

"Hey you," said Gianna. "Remember that I'm the first one in line,". She ran her hands around my waist in a friendly yet intimate manner. There was nothing inappropriate in it. It wasn't even a hug, but it was familiar enough to let the women there know, that she was staking a claim.

We did our same group run as last time but we upped the pace a bit. Just to the point where all of the kids could maintain it but some were uncomfortable. The one's who easily held the pace would probably be our track team. The others would stay in the club until they were ready to move up.

After practice most of the kids were tired and couldn't wait to get into their parent's waiting cars. Of course most of the fathers wanted to stay and ogle Gianna for as long as they could, but eventually there where only the two of us and Beth left. Beth's mom wasn't picking her up; she was spending the night with Sasha.

We walked up to our cars and drove over to the picnic area. Sasha and Beth sat on a bench and played games and watched videos on my iPad, while Gianna and I set out the food.

Then the magic started. We laid down a blanket and sat down on it. For a long time we just stared at each other. She had a look in her eyes that I'd never seen in Dana. I don't know how to describe it. Maybe longing, mixed with desperation, with a bit of hope thrown in for good measure. All of it directed towards me.

"Too early," she said. Then she nodded her head towards the girls. "But hold that thought. 

We talked about our lives and what we wanted out of them. We talked about dreams and why certain things were simply non-negotiable. Among those things were fidelity, honesty and trust.

I asked her why any man in their right mind would ever cheat on her. And she told me that most of the guys she'd gone out with only saw her for her looks. Once they got used to her looks, she became just another woman to them, and there is always someone prettier. So what she was really looking for was someone who loved her for her soul, not someone who liked her for her looks.

She really loved her job, but she really had her heart set on was simple. She just wanted to be someone's wife and mother.

We also talked about what I wanted. My needs were amazingly similar. The girls came over several times to grab snacks and ended up just sitting down on the blanket with us.

"Dad is Ms. Marshall your girlfriend now?" asked Sasha.

"I think she is," said Beth. "But maybe they're just friends, because they don't kiss. My mom has 3 boyfriends and they all kiss her, all the time."

"Well, I guess it's time for us to get home," I said.

"I'll see you at practice Thursday," said Gianna getting up.

"Unh uh," I said, "You have to follow me home. It's time to move this along."

"Move what along?" she asked. 

"The divorce, and the rest of my life," I smiled.

We loaded the kids into Gianna's Jeep and drove to my house. On the way home I called Chuck. He was just getting home which meant that Dana should be on her way as well.

"Chuck, this is Lucas McCain," I said cheerfully.

"Do I know you?" he asked. I could hear the tension in his voice. I was sure this dickhead knew who I was. 

"There's no need for us to play any games Chuck," I said. "You've been fucking my wife Dana for about two months now, so we should be old friends considering what we've shared."

"It was her idea," he quickly said. His voice turned into a whine.

"Chuck, I don't care whose idea it was, I just think that as adults, it's time for us to all sit down and discuss our options. So unless you'd like me to visit your wife and discuss all of this with her, you should come over to my house right now. I'll be home in about 10 minutes. If it takes you longer than 15 minutes from now to get there, I'll come and visit you at home."

Dana actually got home before we did again. I saw her car there as we pulled up. As soon as Gianna's Jeep stopped moving the two girls got out of it and ran up to the house. I stayed back to talk to Gianna.

"This should be interesting," I told her.

"Luke, don't do anything crazy," she said. She scooted up onto the hood of my car and pulled me between her legs.

"Trust me," I said. "I'm not planning on anything silly. I have nothing against Chuck. He didn't betray me, Dana did. And all I want from her is my divorce so I can move on. This should go really easily."

"Well, you forgot something," she said. Then she leaned over and kissed me. For one very long moment, the world stopped turning. Time stood still, and everything around us just ceased to matter. The only thing that broke the spell was the sound of Dana's screaming as she ran at us from the house.

"What the fuck are you doing?" screamed Dana.

"Moving on," I said cheerfully.

"Moving on with what?" hissed Dana. I stuck my hand up to caution her.

"Oh good, Chuck is here," I said as he pulled into our driveway. Chuck got out of his car and almost tripped as he looked at Gianna. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

I hugged her one more time and she got into her car and backed out of the driveway. "My God that woman is beautiful," said Chuck. Dana just sat there growing paler by the second.

"What are you doing here Chuck," she snapped. "Did I leave something at the office?"

"I invited Chuck over," I said. "Let's go inside the house where we can talk calmly."

We went inside and into my living room.

"Who was that woman?" asked Chuck as soon as he sat down. My plan for staying calm and rational suddenly went out of the window. Chuck was about 3 inches taller than me and had me by about 20 pounds but it didn't matter. I slugged him as hard as I could. His nose erupted and he fell back so hard he took the chair with him. He reached up and felt his nose and saw blood and glared at me. He tried to get up and I kicked him in the chest putting him back down again.

"Why'd you hit me?" he screamed. 

"Because I called you over here so we could talk," I hissed. "You're a real piece of shit, Chuck. You're already married, but you go around trying to fuck other guy's wives. You've already ruined my marriage with Dana. But before we can even talk about that, you're sniffing around like you're interested in Gianna." I glared right back at him and he backed down.

"You wanted Dana, you've got her. But Gianna is off limits. If you ever even look at her, I swear I'll kill you. She has far more sense than Dana has, but just the thought of you looking at her pisses me off," I said. "Chuck I have nothing against you. You didn't betray me, my wife did. If there's anyone I should be angry at it's her. But I'm not angry at anyone. As a matter of fact I'm happy. Dana is yours. Take her and have a great life."

"Are you kidding?" he said. "I don't want Dana. I've already got a wife. A better looking one too. It was just sex, and it wasn't even any good. I just like those big old tits. The rest of her isn't worth anything. Trust me if it wasn't so easy to get her, I wouldn't have bothered."

"You asshole," screamed Dana. "I don't want you either. That's why I broke it off with you the other day. I started thinking that Luke knew something was going on, and you weren't worth my marriage."

"Then why did you call me today, you old slut," snapped Chuck.

"Because, Luke hasn't slept with me in over a week," she said.

"Look you guys can work this out when you get back to Chuck's place, or wherever you're going," I said.

"What are you talking about, Luke?" asked Dana. The fear suddenly replaced the anger in her voice.

"I already told you, the two of you have been carrying on for over a month. Whatever it is or was doesn't have to end. I hope the two of you can be very happy together. I truly mean it. If the three of us all pitch in packing her stuff, you too can probably be out of here in 20 minutes. Or you can just pack some of her essentials, and come back for the rest tomorrow, while I'm at work," I said.

They both looked at me as if I had three heads. Confusion was written all over their faces and it was hard to read on Chuck's the way his nose and cheek were swelling up.

"I'm not taking her anywhere," he said.

"Oh yeah, you are, Chuck," I said. "I don't care where you take her, but she's yours now. You can move her in with your wife and kid or pay for a motel room for her, or buy her an apartment. But if you don't want to lose your marriage tonight, you need to do something."

"Luke," said Dana slowly. "I swear to you, that I only love you. Chuck was just a mistake. It was never about love. He just caught me when I was feeling old and vulnerable. He flattered me a lot and made me feel better. You know how self conscious I've always been about my height and my figure." I saw tears begin to trickle down her cheeks.




PTA



"Please, just give me one more chance. I know it was a terrible thing to do, but women need to know that they're attractive, and that they're still able to turn a man on."

"Dana, did I ever do anything to make you feel unattractive? I've always told you that I wanted us to grow old together. You and I were about more than just appearance and sex, I really loved you. You didn't just cheat on me. You cheated on our daughter, all of our memories, the vows we made to each other and all of our dreams of a future. For the past two months you've treated us like shit, but now it's over," I said calmly.

"Well what about that girl, you were just kissing. You're doing the same thing," she snapped.

"No Dana, it's different," I said. "That was the first time I kissed her. We haven't had sex yet. And I only met her as a result of your lies."

"What lies?" asked Dana.

"Gianna is Sasha's teacher," I said. "If you actually had gone to the PTA meetings for the past 2 months, I'd never have met her."

"Here's how this will work," I said. "Tomorrow my lawyer will have you served with divorce papers. She made up 2 sets. Which set we file is your choice Dana; either you sign the nice ones, which list the reason for the divorce as irreconcilable differences, or we go hard. The papers leave us with a 50/50 split of all of the accounts. I keep the house since it belongs to my parents and you can't have it anyway. We have joint custody of Sasha, with her living with me and you visiting her as often as you want."

"Luke I don't want a divorce, please," she begged. "I'll do anything. I just want one more chance. You can fuck that girl a few times for revenge. And then we'll just move on and get over this."

"You and Chuck were just sex right?" I asked. Both of them quickly nodded.

"Well Things with Gianna are a lot more than that," I said. "As soon as I'm free of you, I'm going to marry her."

"Why don't the two of you talk this over after I'm gone," said Chuck.

"Because she's going with you, Chuck," I snapped. "Either you take her with you, or your marriage will be over before you get home."

"I know that you're hurt, Luke," said Dana. "I'll go and stay with my mom for a few days until you calm down, and then we can talk."

"Dana, you're a grown woman, do whatever you want, as long as it involves leaving here," I said. Then I went into the kitchen to get something to drink.

The next few weeks were interesting. I concentrated on spoiling my daughter and getting to know Gianna better. We did all kinds of things together but we didn't have sex. We were saving that for our wedding night.

Dana called me at work and at home several times a day. I never took any of her calls or returned any of them. I did let her have Sasha whenever she wanted. I didn't want to try and keep her from spending time with our daughter.

Her mother and father also called me to try and see if there was any way I'd take her back. They told me that it was a crime to break up a family over one stupid mistake that Dana would regret for the rest of her life. Dana had a right to raise her daughter and have a happy life. I told them that I had a right to a happy life too and I couldn't be happy with a woman who had cheated on me. Especially not with one who did it for over a month, and might be pregnant with someone else's child.

Dana went to see Gianna at school and begged her to let us have one more try. Un-believably they sat down and talked about it. Gianna told her about how her first marriage had broken up and how it felt to do everything you could for someone, just to have that person cheat on you for no reason. I think that gave Dana the idea of what I was going through.

I think what hurt Dana the most was coming over to the house to talk to me and seeing me and Gianna sitting in our long porch swing together. Gianna was sitting up grading her papers while I napped with my head resting in her lap. Sasha sat on the first step with the phone glued to her head talking animatedly like all pre-teens do about some TV show or other. We looked like a family. Like a family that loved each other and was very comfortable being together. Then it started to sink in what she'd thrown away. 

She started crying as she looked at us. I was asleep so I didn't see it but Gianna woke me up by kissing me and pointed at Dana's retreating back.

"Go talk to her," said Gianna.

I got up and caught Dana before she got into her car.

"Dana, did you need to see me for some reason?" I asked. I really tried but it was hard for me to pretend to care. "Why haven't you sent the papers back yet?"

"I guess I came to talk to you about us," she sniffled. "You're not doing this right at all, you know."

"I'm not doing what right?" I asked puzzled by her statement.

"I've spoken to several of my friends, who're divorced," she said. "You're supposed to have gotten angry, at me and fought over me. Then we're supposed to argue over everything including custody of Sasha. Then you're supposed to move out and into a shitty little apartment. You're supposed to be miserable and lonely. And When I feel like it I'm supposed to offer you a mercy fuck or two. Then we're supposed to work our way towards getting back together with the clear understanding that I love you but you're not enough for me. So occasionally I'll take a lover and you won't find out, or you'll pretend that you don't know, because you don't want us to go through the pain of almost losing each other again. Maybe you'll take one too, but it's supposed to just be sex." She was crying now.

"Chuck was only sex Luke. He wasn't as good as you are, and your dick is bigger. I guess that I just wanted someone to make me feel nasty, and just fuck me like when I was younger. I'm tired of feeling old. For a while I had it all. I had him for the rough nasty stuff. And I had you for tender and loving sex. Then over the last few weeks, you stopped sleeping with me and I noticed it and got cranky about it," she said.

"I knew it was wrong so I ended it, but you'd already stopped having sex with me, and I got desperate. So I called dickhead one more time. When I saw you come home with Gianna that first time, I was irate. Then when I calmed down I realized that maybe just maybe, it could be good for me. I figured that if you were having sex with her, when it was over we'd be even and I could get you back," she said.

"I went to see her at school last week and spoke to her about it. And she told me a lot of stuff not only about you guys, but about myself. Then I realized that I was really in danger, this isn't an act. She really loves you, probably as much as I do. She's never going to give you up. So I figured that my only hope would be to appeal to you. We've been together for 16 years and married for 14 of them. We have a child together, and until the past 2 months have been happy. That has to count for something. I'm not going down without a fight."

"Then I came over to talk to you today about it and see if we could work something out. I wanted you to drop the divorce. In exchange for that I'd give you 2 months with her, and then we'd put our marriage and our family back together. But I realize now that you'd never go for that. You love her too, and you're happy. She even has my daughter following her around. You guys look like the family that we never were." The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks.

"I really fucked up. This isn't the way it was supposed to go at all. Chuck never loved me; he just used me like stupid cheap pussy. I found out that he's fucking one of the secretaries now. He tells everyone that I'm only good for my tits and he was done with them. Everyone else at work fits into two categories. The nice people who are friendly but serious about the job won't have anything to do with me. And all of the sleazy guys either married or single think that they have the right to just maneuver me into a corner and try to feel me up, because I'm such a slut. I'm living in an apartment with my parents, and sleeping on their fucking couch. I'm the laughing stock among all of our old friends."

"Remember Sheila, her husband Bert, told her that she should have an affair like I did, so he can upgrade like you did. Half of the wives in town are afraid to even talk about seeing someone on the side, because their husbands might become the next you." 

"Every time I call Sasha, she asks me what I want. When I tell her I just want to spend time with her, she asks me why. I lost my Husband, my best friend, my lover, my daughter, my home, my marriage, my future and the man I wanted to grow old with for a stupid fling."

"Chuck got out of this free and clear, he hasn't lost shit. You and Sasha seem like you're better off. And the people around town got something else to talk about and laugh about. I'm the only one who suffered," she cried. 

"Isn't there any way for us to fix this?" she asked.

"I'm sorry Dana," I said. "You made a lot of points. Of course you missed even more of them. Like, it doesn't really matter what people told you what was supposed to happen. Every situation is different. You were never going to get the house because it was in my family before I ever met you. I was never going to get angry at Chuck or fight for you, because supposedly when we got married that made you mine. The only person who had to fight for you was Chuck. He needed to fight to take you away from me, but as soon as you cheated on me, I no longer wanted you, so there was nothing to fight over. I busted Chuck's face up because he was looking at Gianna. She's someone I do want."

"But don't worry about Chuck he'll get what's coming to him and then some. As far as the way people are treating you. You're kind of getting what you deserve. I was hurting just like you are when I found out about what you were doing with old Chuck. Only I hadn't done anything to deserve it. When it comes to all of the things you lost. You didn't lose them so much as just throw them away. And they were simply picked up by someone who it seems values them far more than you ever did." I paused and looked at her.

"And lastly sometimes when you break something, it just can't be fixed, Dana. The best thing to do is to move on, and don't make the same mistake again. It doesn't matter whether you love someone for 14 years or 14 seconds, when you rip their heart out it hurts like hell. And it doesn't matter if you thought it was going to be a fling or a long term affair. When you break your promises to those people that you love, you risk losing that love."

"Dana right now, I know that this is hard for you, but especially with Sasha, you're her mother and you always will be. I'm never going to try to prevent you from seeing her, and you're always welcome to come over anytime. You can have dinner with us or spend the holidays. Gianna won't mind. But there isn't ever going to be a chance for us again."

Dana signed the papers, and our divorce went through. I then sued Chuck Connors for the emotional distress he put me and my daughter through. I also sued the company that he and Dana worked for. Dana and Chuck were both fired. Chuck's wife took him to the cleaners and he ended up running out on her. We never heard from Chuck again. Dana ended up living permanently with her parents. She rarely went out, and became kind of a recluse. My daughter Sasha visited her often and they were never quite as close as Sasha was with Gianna, but they were better than they'd been before. I guess I never got over the way Dana had hurt me so I never trusted her again. Though Gianna had more than healed my broken heart and gave me so much love that I never looked back, I could never bring myself to forgive Dana.

Dana and Gianna became friends over the years and Gianna was one of the few people who could actually get Dana out of the house. It took twenty years and a very tragic set of circumstances for me to spend any time with Dana.

Sasha had grown up and gotten married and had a family of her own. I spent twenty wonderful love filled years with Gianna. We never had any kids but it didn't matter because Gianna loved Sasha like she was her own. One morning, I was shocked to wake up and find Gianna, cold and still beside me. It later turned out that she'd had a cerebral hemorrhage while she slept. She died with a smile on her face cuddled up in my arms. The doctors all swore that she'd probably died instantly and never felt any pain.

I withdrew into my shell and didn't speak to anyone or go out for a long time. Sasha stayed with me for about six weeks, but finally couldn't convince me to come home with her and her family. Shit I was 55, I was still young and healthy but I just couldn't motivate myself to do anything. Without Gianna's smile, life seemed pointless.

I drank too much and ate too little for the first two days after my daughter returned home to her family. I promised her that I'd call her every day. And take care of myself, and also that I'd come and visit her if I got too down on myself. I did none of these things.

On the third day after my daughter left me, it all changed. I awoke to the smell of bacon cooking. Since I hadn't eaten in days the smell was mouth watering. I wanted bacon like never before. I got up and staggered into my kitchen.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I growled.

"Our daughter made me promise to take care of you before she left. She was actually the second of your women to ask me to do that. Gianna always told me that if anything ever happened to her, she expected me to force my ass back into your life. So here I am."

"What if I don't want you back in my life?" I asked. "Why don't you just get out of here...but leave the bacon."

"No," she said simply.

"What do you mean no?" I asked.

"Luke, I know that you still hate me," she said. "I really screwed up. I betrayed you with a man who was cheating on his own wife with me. Not because he loved me, but because he just wanted to use me for sex. I gave up the love of my life, to have some guy who just wanted to maul my breasts. I lost you, our daughter for a while, and the wonderful life I was supposed to have." She started crying a bit here.

"Do you know that I went a little crazy for a while? I was in therapy, and it didn't help. I was bitter and angry for a long time. Then I made a new friend. She helped me see that even though I had made what was probably the biggest mistake of my life. I hadn't ended my life. My life had to go on. I had to pick myself up and move forward. She got me to start dating again after a while. Those dates, I did go out on them every so often, were usually disastrous."

"At first it was because I could tell the guys didn't really want a serious relationship with me. They just saw big boobs and a big butt, and wanted to have sex with me. I'd already been there, and that mistake had cost me my happiness, so I wasn't going to put up with that again."

"Later on I did go out with a couple of really nice guys, one of whom wanted to marry me. But Luke, I couldn't do it. My friend, whom I'm sure you know was Gianna, told me that the reason I couldn't commit to any of them was because I still loved you. She and I cried about the tragedy of the whole situation. It was sad for both of us. I cried because my stupidity had cost me the love of and my life with, the only man I've ever truly loved."

"She cried because, she was really my friend. She cared about me, and felt my pain but there was no way that she'd ever give you up. She loved you far too much to ever do that or even share you. Finally she told me that if anything ever happened to her, I'd need to take care of you, and maybe then I could get you back." I still didn't want to even look at Dana.

The first few days were awful. Dana came over to the house every day. She threw out all of my liquor. She cleaned the house, made me meals and even made me shave and clean myself up. At first she only stayed for a little while, but as time went on the visits got longer and longer. 

After a month or so, I guess I just got used to her being there. After two months she stopped going home. She just slept in the guest room. She cleaned the house and did everything she could to make my life better and then returned to her room. There were of course a few incidents. I'd go into the bathroom, and see her in there. Or see her coming out after a shower, and catch a glimpse of her partially naked body.

Three months after Gianna died, Dana made me wash my car. I was still driving a Mustang of course. I had four of them now. Over the years I just couldn't bring myself to sell them or trade them in.

"Why do I need to wash my car?" I snapped at her.

"Luke tomorrow will be three months since Gianna died. I know it's painful but you haven't been to see her grave since the funeral. That's another big step towards you coming to terms with this. It won't be easy. It's going to hurt like hell, but you have to do this, to move on with your life. She'll always be a part of you and you'll always remember her, but you still have a lot of years ahead of you before you join her in heaven," she said.

"That's a long time away though so you have to come to terms with it and move on. I'll probably die before you get to see her again. Of course I'll probably go to hell. There has to be a special place in hell reserved for people who cheat on the love of their life," she said. "Just think you and Gianna sitting on a cloud, wearing wings and playing little harps, while I'm roasting my ass off, down below," she said with a hint of a smile.

"Don't worry," I smiled back. "If that did happen, I'd piss on you to cool you off."

That was a big break-through for us. After that we did start talking more and doing things together. It wasn't romantic. It was more like we were just good friends, but we were both happy with it. It took more than a year before we ended up in bed together. It was her birthday and I'd forgotten it. When a card from our daughter came in the mail, and reminded me of it, I felt awful. I was going to rush out to the store and try to get her a last minute crappy present, but she told me that there was something better I could get her.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"One hour, tonight, fully clothed in your bed with your arms around me," she said nervously.

"That's not a present," I said.

"It would mean more to me than anything else in the world," she said. "I'm not asking you for sex, I just want you to hold me."

So at bed time that evening, we went to bed early. Dana came back into the room that had once been ours. She had on a long very thick flannel gown. She slid in next to me under the covers with the biggest smile on her face. I wrapped my arms around her and she sighed. Nothing happened that night except that we slept together for the whole night because we both fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning with one hand on one of her tig old bitties, and a raging hard on that Dana was pushing her butt into. We got out of bed awkwardly, but for the next few days Dana walked around smiling. About a week later Dana, twisted her ankle and I ended up taking care of her. It was the least I could do after all that she'd done for me. Besides we lived in the same house and I knew that neither of us wanted her to go back to the house she'd inherited from her parents when they passed.

After the first night of her constantly calling me during the night from her room, I just moved her into my room. That way I could hear her easier. Her ankle was sore for a couple of weeks, and I truly believe that she milked it, to stay in my room longer. It just seemed like she enjoyed having her ankle sore.

After two weeks of sleeping together Dana just never moved back to her room. Neither of us ever brought it up. One night about a week later, in the middle of the night it happened.




PTA



I woke up as usual with Dana pushed against me. I was pulling on her nipples through the flannel, and Dana was pushing my hands onto them and moaning. I couldn't help myself. I pulled the gown up and slid into her warm, wet pussy.

Dana screamed at the entry and I thought I'd hurt her at first. She started pushing that big fleshy ass against me so hard she almost knocked the wind out me.

"Oh, Luke, fuck me," she said. "I need it so bad." And that's what I did. The first time was rough and fast. We almost shredded her night gown trying to get it off. Dana's body had matured over the years. Her breasts were even bigger though they sagged a bit. Her legs were a little rounder, and her ass was a little less firm. But I had to admit that I missed that body, and I wanted it.

The second round started with Dana sucking our combined juices off of me until I was hard again. Then she got on top of me and gently rode me until we both climaxed again. The next morning we both knew that we were back together in some fashion but didn't talk about it for fear of ruining it. She very gently kissed me, and told me that she'd never stopped loving me. And I told her that I loved her, again. 

We've lived that way since then. We're not married, we just live together. We love each other and have a lot of sex, but are not legally bound. I guess we've seen how that ends and just want to enjoy each other. Yesterday something really funny happened though. After another night of making love, Dana got up to make us breakfast. We wanted to get out on the road early because we're driving the Mustang to Detroit for the Woodward Dream Cruise.

I'd just gotten out of the shower when I heard Dana screaming.

"No fucking way!" she screamed. "Not this time." Then I heard the sound of paper ripping violently, then nothing.

I went into the kitchen wondering what she'd reacted so crazily about. I found her calmly making our breakfast. The mail had already been delivered and there were several envelopes on the table.

I noticed a few scraps of torn paper by the kitchen garbage can and looked inside to see what she'd ripped up. 

"Just junk mail," she said smiling. "Breakfast in about twenty minutes then we're outta here."

I nodded at her, hugged her and then while she wasn't looking gathered the scraps of paper from the garbage can. I went into the basement and put the letter back together like it was a jigsaw puzzle. Once I realized what it was, I laughed my ass off. It was an invitation for Dana to join the PTA.